Conor McGregor may have taken a shot at his fellow Irishman on Friday night.
At the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai, Usman Nurmagomedov controversially defeated Paul Hughes in their rematch.
Their first meeting in January of this year produced arguably the greatest fight in PFL history, with the second bout living up to expectations.
Nurmagomedov spoke after the fight about the highly debated scorecards that had him convincingly emerging victorious to remain undefeated at 20-0.
Some fans theorized that the biggest star in the history of the sport chose to focus on a different element of the fight in his reaction.
Fans react after theorizing that Conor McGregor mocked Paul Hughes after his controversial PFL loss
Earlier this year, Conor McGregor went after Paul Hughes on several occasions via social media.
Hughes was fairly dismissive of the criticism he received from McGregor, which stemmed from a video of the PFL fighter making a clear distinction between him and ‘The Notorious’ when speaking to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Irishman came up short for a second time when taking on Khabib’s cousin on Friday night, but he still received a lot of praise, with many believing that the fight was far closer than the result on the scorecards.
In a since deleted social media post, fans reacted to what they believe was McGregor taking another shot at his fellow countryman.
McGregor wrote on X, “fart in the wind”, which could be a reference to Hughes’ overall impact and career in mixed martial arts, though alternative theories have also been provided.
‘It’s funny because at this point in their careers, Hughes would beat the breaks off of Conor badly,’ wrote one fan, with another making a similar point. ‘Lol whether or not one fighter is a bigger name or not, Hughes would chin Conor.’
Multiple responses made reference to the perception of both men in Ireland, with one user stating, ‘Hughes makes Ireland proud unlike Conor.’
Others posted similar sentiments, with statements like, ‘He’s just mad Ireland actually respects Paul.’
Some fans were surprised in general at the suggestion that McGregor would lash out like this, writing, ‘Unfortunate for an Irishman to celebrate a fellow Irishman loss,’ and simply, ‘Can’t be serious.’
Several responses from fans did question, due to the vagueness of the post, whether it was in relation to Hughes, with one stating that McGregor said the same thing during the recent BKFC press conference.
Conor McGregor’s historic rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov was set to receive another chapter on Friday night
With Ireland’s Paul Hughes taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin, there was always going to be a narrative regarding Conor McGregor and the biggest feud in the history of MMA.
Fans who were watching in 2018 when the rivalry between McGregor and Nurmagomedov truly kicked off will remember that ‘The Notorious’ himself wasn’t the initial catalyst.
McGregor’s former teammate, Artem Lobov, was set to face Zubaira Tukhugov at the PFL’s event on Friday night in a matchup that is seven years in the making.
Unfortunately, Lobov withdrew during fight week due to an injury, stopping the moment where he clashed with Nurmagomedov’s team from coming full circle.